UA Engineering Students Compete in Design Project

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Freshmen engineering students at The University of Alabama will compete in an annual design project on Nov. 13 and Nov. 14 at the University Church of Christ gymnasium. The competition will test their ability to design a model airplane launcher and payload delivery system capable of transporting three ounces of play dough to a target.

The 14 UA teams and one team from Bevill State Community College will be competing. On Thursday, the competition time will be 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., and on Friday, the teams will compete from 1-4 p.m. The University Church of Christ is located at 1200 Julia Tutwiler Drive.

While students will design and construct the launchers and delivery systems prior to the event, they will not know the exact distance of the target from the airplane launch site until the day of the competition. This will challenge teams to create payload mechanisms capable of adjusting and delivering to different distances.

Adding to the challenge, airplanes must be able to fly without assistance of hand launches or a human operator, and no wood can be used in the construction of the launcher.

Each class section in the general engineering studies curriculum is a team, and each class will be graded on a 180-point scale based on the design of the launcher and delivery system, the launch of the aircraft, two flight missions and individual team contribution based on peer ratings. Additionally, teams will be judged on their ability to land the aircraft in an upright position while also delivering the play dough to the target.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has more than 2,300 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last seven years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.